Police officer fired over discrimination case

A sergeant in the Metropolitan Police has been sacked in the wake of a misconduct hearing, after he used language towards colleagues that was deemed to be discriminatory.

It was revealed during this hearing, sergeant Sevket Gurgur described a pregnant female colleague as a “diva” and accused her of “using the pregnancy card” following her return from sick leave. There were also incidents of discriminatory language being used towards two other female officers. According to HR Magazine, Gurgur was sacked after the hearing panel found his behaviour to be “intentional, deliberate and targeted.”

When the news story broke, there was a debate about what organisations can do to prevent this kind of situation. Mary-Clare Race of the Talking Talent business management consultancy said that inclusive behaviour policies had to be set and enforced by HR.

This was echoed by Maternity Coach founder Frances Cushway, but she added:

“The use of appropriate language at work is part of the culture of an organisation, and this comes from senior management down.”

It is because of the need for inclusive workplace cultures now that organisations are turning to an employee relations consultant in Hertfordshire or elsewhere. An outsourced consultancy of that sort can offer greater expertise than in-house HR.

Cushway went on to emphasise the importance of those in senior positions being on board with inclusivity though. She stated that line managers had to grasp the importance of language and take steps to stamp out discrimination when needed.

Race suggested that language inclusivity could be part of training and onboarding at organisations.